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Using the Slaughtered Hog

1K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  GeorgeK 
#1 ·
Hi all,

Yes I went through the web site referred to about slaughtering hogs in Romania. In some ways I thought it was easier and in some ways harder. Guess it doesn't matter too much if it ALL is going to turn into sausage. But I would certainly miss the loin roasts and fresh ham roasts.

I appreciate what Tango said about using everything. My questions for all is do you make use of the brain and if so how do you prepare it. After spending the day cutting and gutting, the last thing I'm interested in doing is "mining" the head which is also the hardest part of the critter to clean. I was most interested in the photos where they split the skull...presumably for the brain.

Yes! I do make sausage and use most organ meats, but I do not stuff gut casings...just use the sausage as "bulk" sausage. Part of my problem here is the time issue since I mostly do this alone...after several hours my interest in wading through cleaning the gut is pretty minimal. I've made corn loaves cooked with bits of meat and using meat stock to make it. It's OK, but not that great. I also bone out everything. I have found that leaving the bone in results in a different taste to the meat. AND freezer space is at a premium so I don't waste it with non-edible parts.

As for eating ears you all need to be at a Filipino cookout. They eat the skin and fat first and don't care that much about the meat. Works well for me : > )

bearkiller
 
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#2 ·
bearkiller said:
Hi all,

Yes I went through the web site referred to about slaughtering hogs in Romania. In some ways I thought it was easier and in some ways harder. Guess it doesn't matter too much if it ALL is going to turn into sausage. But I would certainly miss the loin roasts and fresh ham roasts.

I appreciate what Tango said about using everything. My questions for all is do you make use of the brain and if so how do you prepare it. After spending the day cutting and gutting, the last thing I'm interested in doing is "mining" the head which is also the hardest part of the critter to clean. I was most interested in the photos where they split the skull...presumably for the brain.

Yes! I do make sausage and use most organ meats, but I do not stuff gut casings...just use the sausage as "bulk" sausage. Part of my problem here is the time issue since I mostly do this alone...after several hours my interest in wading through cleaning the gut is pretty minimal. I've made corn loaves cooked with bits of meat and using meat stock to make it. It's OK, but not that great. I also bone out everything. I have found that leaving the bone in results in a different taste to the meat. AND freezer space is at a premium so I don't waste it with non-edible parts.

As for eating ears you all need to be at a Filipino cookout. They eat the skin and fat first and don't care that much about the meat. Works well for me : > )

bearkiller




I'm with you Bearkiller, I think bulk sausage would be my choice too. Tell me what you mean by a different taste if you don't debone? Not as good?
 
#5 ·
I'm defintely with you on the time issue Bearkiller. We made 15 pounds of Italian sausage two weekends ago and I was asking myself if it was really worth it. Of course the meat isn't comparable to a supermarket sausage but we spent all day (our grinder is manual) between preparations and clean up. In the end we still haven't tweaked our sausage recipe to optimum so I'm not thrilled with the product. We are relatively new to the butchering process so we're still learning. We've now done a total of about 14 and they get quicker and more efficient to do as we progress. We don't do the casings with each pig because we don't eat that much sausage but when we have done it, I've found it to be quick and straightforward (if the pig was fasted for 24 hours :) ) The head is mined for tamale meat. There's quite a bit of meat in there. But I have drawn the line at the brains. I can't do it. I can't even see them. I've plenty of friends who will take it and fry it up but I've got a mental block against it. Can't think of anything else that will get the same response from me.
 
#9 ·
Liverwurst is easy to make if you have a decent food processor. Steam the liver, heart and spleen til cooked. Put in the processor and puree, use enough of your stock from the steaming to just keep the works from gumming up. put in salt, pepper and garlic to taste, as the processor is running drop in one at a time three large eggs, then either put it in a pie pan or into casings and bake for about a half an hour at 300F

marknfl said:
I would like to try my hand at my own liverurst. My dad use to make mount oysters after we casterated our hogs.
 
#10 ·
Wow! Thanks for your thoughts.

Frankly, I'm with you Tango! Sorry Uncle Will, I can't get past the sight of brains. And I keep thinking of BSE and Scrapie! And Tango, my grinder is also manual, but I put a pully on it and run at low speed with a gas engine. Keeping the plates and knives sharp is tedious though! Have to touch up with a stone now and again.

If I had more help with the process I'd definitely try cleaning the gut, but a day with the knife is long enough.

What I mean by the taste is different between boned out meat and bone in meat is just that...not better, nor worse, just different. Freezing and thawing the bone seems to impart the flavors. Next time you do the deed, try it and see what you think.

Regarding the organ meats, my first choice in liver is venison, second is lamb. I'm afraid pig liver is way down the list, but I do process it and eat it. My bride loves to turn it into menudo and other Filipino dishes. Heart, kidney, spleen are all ok with me. I've eaten "lights" once at a Chinese restaurant and all I can say is the sauce was great, but the lung tasted like dish sponge. That goes to the dogs after cooking.

Cowgirlone, I tried that once, but could not get past the pot. Whew!

Marknfl, yup, mountain oysters are the first meal the pigs offer up in the spring and definitely qualify for yummy!

bearkiller
 
#12 ·
How do you prepare the mountain oysters? We haven't castrated boys yet but will start with next season's litters. Always heard they are scrumptious.

It is my goal Uncle Will to get past all food -related revulsions. I was the pickiest eater as a kid, gave my mother tons to be mad about since I'd waste a perfectly good meal and it didn't register how many poor orphans were going hungry that very evening :rolleyes: I've managed to overcome a lot of those food prejudices. As soon as possible I will try brains. I know what I feel is psychological. :confused: I think...

Kidneys in a stew dish called "gandinga" is very good. The livers, lungs, stomach, kidneys, heart, and [something long and reddish and thin] are diced very small, half the size of dice, and marinated half a day then slow cooked with some olive oil, onions, garlic, peppers, and tomato sauce. :) My favorite way to have lungs however are in "cuchi frito." I use the heart, lungs, and[ long thin reddish thing] diced and sauteed in olive oil, garlic and onion. Yummy! You can put it in a bun or eat it by itself, over rice, over pasta, with french fries... Hmmm.... come to think of it, I have some in the freezer....
 
#13 ·
When we do fries, we remove the outer skin that has all of the veins. I just slice around the fry and remove the skin, slice the fry in half if small or slice in 1/4 inch slices if you are cutting up a large fry.
Batter and fry them.
It's easier doing this when they are frozen. They get mushy when thawed.
Sounds awful, but they sure are tasty. :)
 
#14 ·
Tango,

Can I invite myself over for dinner, LOL.

I used to think I was almost universal in my eating. Then a Chinese lady took me out for dinner and I found those chicken feet left me squeamish...then came the cow lungs in a great sauce. Never could get into eating dish sponges...hairs up my neck at the thought! Then I married a Filipina and they can sure come up with some mighty strange stuff. Left me feeling very provincial in my dietary tastes.

I like Rocky Mountain oysters slow fried, breaded, and with plenty of sliced onions.

Tango, I think your " long thin reddish thing" is the pancreas...sounds right! Pretty tasty on its own, but as you describe...well my question stands!

bearkiller
 
#15 ·
Pancreas, that's it! Hey bearkiller, you don't have to invite yourself. I live in paradise and always have abundance in meats right here praise God. I raise what others hunt. I would like to hunt but have no one to accompany me. You are welcome to join us anytime, especially butchering time hehehe- mighty long way- but well worth the trip. If we ever have a reunion like other forums have, I offer my place for that reunion. Doesn't get any finer than the Kissimmee Prairie (unless it is summer, like now :rolleyes: ) and unless you don't like reptiles ... :)
 
#16 ·
Freeze them first, cut lengthwise then peel. freezing makes them much easier to peel off the tunica (very tough connective tissue) without mangling the edible part. then lightly four with a little salt and white pepper, then fry

Tango said:
How do you prepare the mountain oysters? We haven't castrated boys yet but will start with next season's litters. Always heard they are scrumptious.

It is my goal Uncle Will to get past all food -related revulsions. I was the pickiest eater as a kid, gave my mother tons to be mad about since I'd waste a perfectly good meal and it didn't register how many poor orphans were going hungry that very evening :rolleyes: I've managed to overcome a lot of those food prejudices. As soon as possible I will try brains. I know what I feel is psychological. :confused: I think...

Kidneys in a stew dish called "gandinga" is very good. The livers, lungs, stomach, kidneys, heart, and [something long and reddish and thin] are diced very small, half the size of dice, and marinated half a day then slow cooked with some olive oil, onions, garlic, peppers, and tomato sauce. :) My favorite way to have lungs however are in "cuchi frito." I use the heart, lungs, and[ long thin reddish thing] diced and sauteed in olive oil, garlic and onion. Yummy! You can put it in a bun or eat it by itself, over rice, over pasta, with french fries... Hmmm.... come to think of it, I have some in the freezer....
 
#17 ·
long thin and red is spleen. Pancreas is more like a pinkish yellow blob of tapioca


Tango said:
How do you prepare the mountain oysters? We haven't castrated boys yet but will start with next season's litters. Always heard they are scrumptious.

It is my goal Uncle Will to get past all food -related revulsions. I was the pickiest eater as a kid, gave my mother tons to be mad about since I'd waste a perfectly good meal and it didn't register how many poor orphans were going hungry that very evening :rolleyes: I've managed to overcome a lot of those food prejudices. As soon as possible I will try brains. I know what I feel is psychological. :confused: I think...

Kidneys in a stew dish called "gandinga" is very good. The livers, lungs, stomach, kidneys, heart, and [something long and reddish and thin] are diced very small, half the size of dice, and marinated half a day then slow cooked with some olive oil, onions, garlic, peppers, and tomato sauce. :) My favorite way to have lungs however are in "cuchi frito." I use the heart, lungs, and[ long thin reddish thing] diced and sauteed in olive oil, garlic and onion. Yummy! You can put it in a bun or eat it by itself, over rice, over pasta, with french fries... Hmmm.... come to think of it, I have some in the freezer....
 
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